PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN STOCKHOLM IMMERSES ITSELF IN VIKING HISTORY

23 September 2022 – In observance of the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo 2022), which is celebrated every September pursuant to Proclamation No. 316, the staff and family members of the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm, led by Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta, visited The Viking Museum to gain greater awareness of the maritime history of Sweden and the similarities shared with the Philippines.

Team Members of the Philippine Embassy at The Viking Museum are given a glimpse of the Viking way of life by modern day Viking Asker Ingvaldsson. Photo at right shows Ambassador Isleta, Vice Consul Pat Solosa, and Mrs Moira Gallaga (backs to the camera) listening intently to the talk. Left photo shows Ms. Francesca Caredda, and Ms. Angelika Gawell, of the Museum management welcoming the Embassy personnel.

The Viking Museum is a cultural history exhibition that opened in 2017 at the Djurgården island in Stockholm. It is a depiction of the life conditions in the Viking Age. The Museum houses a selection of artifacts and other objects which celebrate the Viking way of life.

Embassy personnel were given a brief introduction and history lesson on the beginnings and evolution of the Vikings, legends and myths on their way of life, and truths of their customs and traditions based on historical and archaeological evidence. Mr. Asker Ingvaldsson, a doctoral student in Archeology in Stockholm provided the briefing.

Embassy personnel and family members were also treated to a 10-minute boat ride that followed “Ragnfrid’s Saga” that tells the fictional story of a Viking woman in the year 963 who, with the help of a fortune teller, convinces her husband Harald to leave on a long boat journey / Viking Raid to find enough silver to support his family. By following Ragnfrid’s journey one becomes witness to the plundering in the west and the slave trade in the east at that time.

The guided tour and information in connection with the Museum’s construction were provided by Ms. Angelika Gawell, Events and Booking Manager.

At the end of the visit, Embassy personnel were able to appreciate the commonalities between seafaring Vikings and pre-Hispanic Filipinos, who both relied heavily on the sea to connect with other cities and towns as well as other peoples to barter and trade goods. END